Nepal PM's Border Encroachment Claims

Nepal's Prime Minister Balen Shah sparked a political controversy by claiming that both Nepal and India have encroached upon each other's territories in a long-standing border dispute involving India — Lipulekh Pass, Limpiyadhura, and India — Kalapani territory. Shah stated that Nepal had sent a diplomatic note to India and received a response, with both countries agreeing to resolve the issue through historians, surveyors, and experts. He also revealed that Nepal held diplomatic discussions with China and the United Kingdom, seeking their involvement due to the historical context of British India. India's Ministry of External Affairs firmly rejected any role for third parties, reiterating that the border issue is a bilateral matter to be resolved through established mechanisms. Shah's comments drew strong criticism from opposition lawmakers like Nepal — Nepali Congress and Nepal — Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist), and former diplomats such as Nilambara Acharya, Deep Kumar Upadhyay, and geographer Buddhi Narayan Shrestha, who dismissed his claims of Nepal's encroachment as undocumented. Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs later issued a clarification, stating that Shah's remarks pertained to 'no-man's land encroachments' and 'cross-border occupation' rather than territorial claims.